Conveyer mechanism



I Nov. 3, 1953 Filed July 21, 1 951 J. a. VON MAUR 2,657,696

CONVEYER MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet l 1953 J. E. VON MAUR 2,657,696

' coNvbYER MECHANISM Filed July 21, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

Patented Nov. 3, 1953 CONVEYER MECHANISM Jacob E. von-Maur, Upper Arlington, Ohio, as-

signor to Metalwash Machinery v('J0mpany, Elizabeth, N.-J., acopartnership Application July 21, 1951, SerialNo.237,867

This invention relates to'conveyormechanisms and has as an object to provide an auxiliary mechanism which will intersect the path of travelof baskets hanging from a main conveyor system and deflect these baskets so that the objects contained in these baskets are moved from their normal position. 7

.In the production of shell cases and the like it is necessary during the stamping and forming operations to subject the shell case to the action of phosphate, bonderizing, pickling or washing solutions. In the practices now established throughout this industry these shell cases, after having been formed, are placed in baskets on a conveyor which passes the individual case or cases in the basket through various liquid treatment solutions. It is necessary to have the shell case or other object in the basket in a tilted position so that when the baskets are hanging in their normal position any fluid trapped in the case will drain out. A defect in this operation is that the shell case may entrap air while it is submerged and, therefore, will remain partially untreated in this area surrounded by the air. To overcome this, I have provided a traveling belt or chain, the path of travel of which intersects the path of travel of the conveyor at an angle to its direction of travel, and which is adapted to engage the supporting member for the shell case basket, to temporarily bias the supporting member so that the shell case mouth is pointed upwardly allowing any entrapped air to surface assuring complete occupation of the shell case by the solution.

Having described my invention briefly, reference is now had to the drawings and specification which form a part of this description in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a conveyor mechanism and shows the support for one of the baskets being engaged by the traveling belt mechanism;

Figure 2 is a cross-section taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 shows a shell case supporting basket in horizontal position in the tank.

Referring specifically to the drawings, an I-beam track for a conveyor is indicated at I. This track may be supported in any well known manner, not illustrated. On each side of the central connecting portion of I-beam l are supported roller wheels 2 connected by links 3 to form a continuous chain along the I-beam, which is power driven by means not illustrated, to move in the direction indicated. At suitable intervals along the chain are brackets 4 which connect pairs of wheels under the I-beam. These brackets 2 Claims. (01. i1'34-127) 4 have a downwardly protruding hingingportion 5 to which is pivotally fastened a basket supporting member '6 by means of a pin 1. This basket supporting member 6 extends downwardly for a suitable distance and branches out into basket supporting arms 3, which are fastened to either side of a basket 9, fabricated from perforated material so that the ingress and egress of fluid is facilitated.

A travelling belt means generally indicated at 19 and which includes a supporting arm H, a pulley 12 mounted at the'end of said arm I I, and an endless'belt [3 about said pulley and'around a power source !5 is provided to tip the baskets 9 in a manner to be described. This travelling belt means l0 extends at an angle to the path of the main conveyor, and moves in the same direction as the conveyor with a speed. equal to or greater than that of the conveyor.

A dip tank t6 containing metal treating fluid I! is disposed beneath the I-beam conveyor and so arranged that the objects contained in the basket will be completely submerged when the particular basket is at the lowermost portion 01 the track I.

Shell cases l8 are placed in the basket 9 in such a manner so that in the normal position of the basket 9 any liquidcontained in the shell case will drain from the mouth of the case. As readily noticed in Figure 3, if the basket were to remain in its normal position While submerged in the fluid I1, an air pocket I9 would form at its upper end. The metal surrounded by the air, therefore, would not be subject to treatment by the .liquid H. In order to assure that the liquid I1 reaches every part of the containing tube, the baskets are tilted, best shown in Figures 1 and 2, and any air in the shell case l8 will escape due to its buoyancy through the mouth of the shell case.

In order to effect tipping of the shell case containing basket 9, the travelling belt I3 is placed so that the basket supporting member 6 is engaged by the belt I3 when the baskets are submerged in the tank. Since the paths of the belt and conveyor intersect, the supporting member 6 is guided sideways as well as forward, thus pivoting the basket supporting member 6 about portion 5, to tip the baskets and their contained shell cases. It may be understood that with light work the travelling belt or chain l3 may be replaced by a stationary track which intersects with the path of the basket supporting member 6 in the same manner as the travelling belt l3 so that the same movement of the supporting member 3 6 is accomplished. However, with heavy work the additional driving force supplied by the travelling belt I3 is desirable in order to have the system operate satisfactorily.

After the work supporting arm 6 passes beyond the pulley 12, it returns to its normal vertical position and the basket to its horizontal position. Then when the basket emerges from under the liquid ll in tank [6, the liquid will drain from the shell case 18.

While this description has been limited to a process used in connection with the production of cartridge or shell cases, it will be understood that the mechanism is equally applicable to all hollow products which are closed at one end.

I have described what I believe to be the best embodiment of my invention. I do not wish, however, to be confined to the embodiment shown, but what I desire to cover by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an overhead conveyor system, an I-beam track, a power conveyor supported by said I-beam track, work supporting members attached to said conveyor at suitable intervals along said conveyor, said work supporting members being laterally pivotally attached to said conveyor at their upper ends and including a basket at their lower ends, a belt traveling at least as fast as said work supporting members intersecting a portion of the path of travel of said Work supporting members and arranged so that the work supporting members are engaged by and biased to one side to tip 4 said basket until they have passed beyond said traveling belt.

2. In an apparatus of the type described, a main conveyor system comprising an I-beam track and means for advancing connected work supporting members therealong, said work supporting members being pivotally connected to said track for lateral tilting motion with respect thereto, baskets attached to said work supporting members, a tank under said conveyor system, said conveyor system and tank being so arranged that said baskets are lowered into said tank while traveling along the length of the tank, and emerge near the far end of said tank, power operated biasing means extending across said tank and angularly intersecting the path of said work supporting members, said biasing means comprising a traveling belt arranged so that the work supporting members are engaged thereby and biased to one side thus tilting the baskets until the Work supporting members have passed beyond said belt.

JACOB E. VON MAUR.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,422,656 Brennan July 11, 1922 1,461,760 Morinsky July 17, 1923 2,023,668 Daw Dec. 10, 1935 2,177,982 I-Iannon Oct. 31, 1939 2,490,289 Williams Dec. 6, 1949 

